The punctuality of David Alaba

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David Alaba, in the 0-1 action in the league classic at Camp Nou.Josep Lago (AFP)

David Alaba (Vienna, 29 years old) was made clear as soon as he signed for Real Madrid that his number on the shirt would be four, Sergio Ramos'.

They had no other, they assured him, and he did not want to ask other colleagues if they could give him his.

The message to the Austrian, in reality, was a

: leader of the defense after the abrupt departure of the center-back and captain, and also his number, always a symbolic element in the iconography of a club, for better or for worse.

After a lifetime in the warmth of the home in Munich, the task was delicate despite his long experience in the heights of Bayern, but his punctuality in adaptation has been high so far. Almost as much as his summer dinners in Madrid restaurants, where he sat down during European time and got up when the local clientele began to take their seats a long time later. From the first day, even in the midst of the recovered uproar of the stadiums, his command voice was felt with an increasingly present Castilian. Together with the silent, and now cheered, Militão inaugurated the only new company of Madrid

by Ancelotti. With a stroke of the pen, the whites had also seen Varane leave, which placed them both in unexplored territory in the middle of the rear, a marshy terrain where they have moved successfully for the moment thanks to their good lubrication. "They are traced: very faint profiles, always below the radar", describe Valdebebas sources about the two most used field players this course.

The Italian coach already managed Alaba in Munich in 2016/17, but the role at the Bernabéu, except for a couple of initial duels, was going to change compared to his first spell at the Allianz. There he rarely left the left back under

's command despite the fact that his predecessor, Pep Guardiola, had already discovered the position of center-back and others that were more difficult to classify, such as the false midfielder. "I did not know that I could play central," admitted the footballer himself in 2016 in an interview in

. A few new horizons that were parked with Ancelotti, and his successors Jupp Heynckes and Niko Kovac, and that he did not recover permanently until 2019 with Hansi Flick in an indomitable Bavarian team. Karl-Heinz Rummenigge's sentence dates from his brilliant epilogue with Bayern, where he fulfilled his contract without renewal: “David is the black Franz Beckenbauer. The first from him able to take the reins of the entire team from the center of defense ”.

In their reunion in Spain, Ancelotti has only seen Alaba in that watchtower. “He had no doubts about his adaptation. I know his quality and the type of professional he is ”, the Italian valued this Tuesday. The confirmation of the trip to the center of defense has also been witnessed by Toni Kroos, who saw him grow as a left back before coming to Chamartín in 2014 and has now received him in his new role. “He was very young when I was at Bayern and the change in position has been very big. It is totally different. But it has not surprised me that he has adapted very well ”, added the German half. On the other hand, the Austrian, a great follower of fashion and very religious (his description on Twitter reads "My strength is in Jesus"), this Kroos did catch his attention. "What has happened to you in these seven years?"He asked him when he saw in his first weeks in Valdebebas that he went to the gym very often, something he did not do in Munich.

His goal at the Camp Nou

In this direction of the rear, the first idea of ​​the white coach was, at the cry of the new boss, to get on top of the rival and raise the lines, until he placed the penultimate dike in the center of the field.

He claimed it privately and in public from his footballers.

However, after several unsuccessful attempts to start the course, the mission was aborted.

The collective accordion did not work and the equipment was out of adjustment behind more than necessary.

Since October, the Austrian and Militão have been living warmer in the back, with the three media close by.

And probably as a consequence in part of this modification with respect to the initial plan and also to the characteristics of Bayern, the

Merengue recovers fewer balls this season (5.8 per game last season and 4.2 this season), clears more (1.8-2.6) and has fewer duels (4.89-3.88).

What has not changed is his good foot, as Barcelona already suffered in the classic league (1-2).

He stole in his area and crossed the entire meadow to sign a counter and open the scoring with a great cross shot.

His second goal was fouled by the Sheriff (0-3) after touching a rival.

The first time that David Alaba stepped on the Bernabéu, in the 2012 Champions semi-finals, after six minutes he had already been awarded a penalty against one hand.

That much remembered night ended well for him, with a maximum penalty turned into the decisive batch and Ramos' launch into the sky.

Now it has not needed any script twists.

In these six months of introduction in Madrid, everything has gone well for him in his confirmation as a center-back outside the certainties of the Munich home.

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